''Wooden's Legacy'' is a public artwork by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

artist Jeffrey Rouse that is located on the west corner of Georgia and Meridian Streets, in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, which was unveiled on March 9, 2012, depicts Indiana-born college basketball coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

in a crouching position in the act of coaching. He is surrounded by five basketball players represented as sets of legs, each in a style that depicts an era from Wooden's career. On and around the base are words and quotes that define Wooden's coaching philosophy, including his "Pyramid of Success".

Description

The sculpture depicts coach John Wooden crouching on an over sized basketball, holding a rolled up set of papers in his left hand and gesturing with his right hand. His mouth is open as he faces east towards

Gainbridge Fieldhouse Gainbridge Fieldhouse is an indoor arena located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It opened in November 1999 to replace Market Square Arena. The arena is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and t ...

, the city's largest basketball arena. Wooden was born in

Hall, Indiana Hall is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Gregg Township, Morgan County, Indiana, Gregg Township, Morgan County, Indiana, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. History Hall was laid out in 1861. A post office was establish ...

, played basketball at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, and then later took his first college coaching position at Indiana State Teachers College, which is now called

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. Surrounding Wooden are five players idealized as sets of men's legs, each wearing basketball shoes and socks that are representative of pivotal years in Wooden's career. Each shoe is made to look like the year it was worn and is marked on the back quarter with a year or word: "1930" - The year Wooden received his first All-American honor as a player at Purdue
"1946" - The year he began his coaching career at the Indiana Teacher's College (now

)
"1964" - The year he won his first NCAA championship and was named Coach of the Year at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

"1975" - His last of year coaching and his final and 10th NCAA championship
"Beyond" - A shoe from today indicating his ongoing legacy The sculpture rests on a concrete base that has words associated with Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" surrounding the upper area. To the lower side there is a famous quote by Wooden:

Historical information

The sculpture was unveiled on March 9, 2012, as a gift from the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee to the City of Indianapolis. It was placed on the renovated Georgia Street, which had been made into an entertainment-centered area that was used extensively during the

2012 Super Bowl Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

, which was held at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...

Critical reception

Shortly after the piece was unveiled, local news sources began to consider the artwork.

Bill Littlefield William Littlefield (born July 1948) was the host of National Public Radio and WBUR's Only A Game program from its beginning in 1993 to July 2018, covering mainstream and offbeat United States and international sports. Littlefield joined NPR in 1 ...

of National Public Radio's '' Only A Game'' wrote about the artwork after a visit to Indianapolis and Indianapolis newspapers later considered the merits of the artwork. Wooden's grandson, Craig Impleman, celebrated the artwork by saying, "When viewing the statue my expectations were met and exceeded."

Artist

Jeffrey Rouse is an Indiana-born and New York City-based sculptor who also has a dental practice with offices in both

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and Hicksville.

References

External links

Jeffrey Rouse's artist web page

''Wooden's Legacy'' on Indianapolis Downtown Inc.'s web page
{{Monuments in Indianapolis, state=collapsed Outdoor sculptures in Indianapolis 2012 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Indiana Statues in Indianapolis Sculptures of men in Indiana 2012 establishments in Indiana Statues of sportspeople Cultural depictions of basketball players